Seat-adjusting mechanism, especially for vehicle seats

ABSTRACT

A seat-adjusting mechanism, particularly for vehicle seats, in which a seat frame is movably arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction by slide members displaceable in guide rails and in which the fixing of the pre-selected seat position takes place by an engageable toothed arrangement; the slide members of one guide rail abut at least within the lower area thereof at the walls surrounding the same and the clearance between the upper edge of the slide members and the upper wall of the guide rails is compensated for by a spring-loaded cam rotatably supported between the slide members at the side walls of the seat frame.

United States Patent 1 1 Gmeiner et al.

[54] SEAT-ADJUSTING MECHANISM,

ESPECIALLY FOR VEHICLE SEATS [75] Inventors: Giinter Gmeiner,-Sindelfingen; Christian Grabner, Maichingen, both of Germany [73]Assignee: Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft, Stuttgart-Untertuerkheim,Germany [22] Filed: July 14, 1970 [21] App1.No.: 54,812

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 22, 1969 Germany 69 28 888.6

[52] U.S. Cl ..248/429 [51] Int. Cl ..F16m 13/00 [58] Field of Search..248/41 1, 429, 430; 108/143; 306/36; 74/527 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3,450,425 6/1969 Leonhardt ..248/430 X 1 1 Jan.16, 1973 2,149,946 3/1939 Whcdon et al. ..248/429 3,013,763 12/1961Weberman ..24s 429 3,479,099 11/1969 Krause 1 .240/429 x 3,139,3136/1965 5111115.... ..24s/429 2,844,430 7/1958 B0831 ..3()8/3.6

Primary Examiner-William H. Schultz Attorney-Craig & Antonelli [5 7ABSTRACT A seat-adjusting mechanism, particularly for vehicle seats, inwhich a seat frame is movably arranged in the vehicle longitudinaldirection by slide members displaceable in guide rails and in which thefixing of the pre-selected seat position takes place by an engageabletoothed arrangement; the slide members of one guide rail abut at leastwithin the lower area thereof at the walls surrounding the same and theclearance between the upper edge of the slide members and the upper wallof the guide rails is compensated for by a spring-loaded cam rotatablysupported between the slide members at the side walls of the seat frame.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDJAH 161975 SHEET 1 OF 2 FIG. 2

SEAT-ADJUSTING MECHANISM, ESPECIALLY 3 FOR VEHICLE SEATS The presentinvention relates to a seat-adjusting mechanism, especially for vehicleseats, in which a seat frame is movably arranged in the vehiclelongitudinal direction by means of slide members displaceable in guiderails and in which the fixing of the selected seat position takes placeby means of an engageable toothed arrangement.

' A favorable transmission of the forces from the seat to the guiderails secured at the vehicle floor takes place with this type of seatadjustment because the force-transmitting places between the vehiclefloor and the seat remain unchanged relative to the seat.

Since great value is placed on the absence of noise in seat-adjustingmechanisms, the guide rails and slide members had to be constructedheretofore with small tolerances. This entailed a considerable increasein cost, especially as the installation of the guide rails had to becarried out with the greatest care.

In order to obviate this shortcoming, it is proposed that according tothe present invention, the slide members consisting preferably ofsynthetic resinous material abut in one of the guide rails at leastwithin the lower area at the walls surrounding the same whereby the playor clearance between the upper edges of the slide members and the upperwall of the guide rail is compensated for by one spring-loaded cam eachrotatably supported between the slide members at the side walls of theseat frame.

In a further advantageous construction of the present invention, thedisengagement of the cams may take place during the disengagement of theshift lock members provided with a row of apertures which may beconnected with each other by a rod provided with an actuating lever.

ln case of a mutual displacement of the two guide rails or in case of atwisting of the seat, a locking engagement on at least one side isachieved if one of the shift-lock members is rigidly connected with therod and is pressed by a spring against a toothed bar projecting fromeach guide rail in the downward direction and if the other shift lockmember is constructed elastically.

The locking operation is facilitated if the teeth of the toothed barhave a narrow head portion that,after an inclined transition section,runs out on both sides into a wide base part.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide aseat-adjusting mechanism which avoids by simple means the aforementionedshortcomings and drawbacks encountered in the prior art.

Another object of the present invention resides in a seat-adjustingmechanism, especially for vehicle seats, which assures substantialfreedom from noise in the seat-adjusting mechanism, yet dispenses withthe requirement of small tolerances as regards the manufacture andinstallation of the guide rails and slide members.

A further object of the present invention resides in a seat-adjustingmechanism which assures a satisfactory engagement of the shift lockmechanism even in case of twisting of the seat or mutual shifting of theguide rails.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more obvious from the following description whentaken in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows, forpurposes of illustration only, one embodiment in accordance with thepresent invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic perspective view of a part of anadjusting mechanism supported in the two side walls of the seat frame inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing in FIGS. 2a and 2b thearrangement of the slide members in the left and right guide rails,respectively, in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are somewhat schematic side elevational views of aseat-adjusting arrangement in accordance with the present invention andillustrating, respectively, the engaged and disengaged condition of ashift-locking means with its effect on a cam; and

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view, partially broken away, of a seatguide rail with a disengaged shift-lock means of another type inaccordance with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals are usedthroughout the various views to designate like parts, and moreparticularly to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates in this figurethe two side walls of a seat frame, not illustrated otherwise in detail.A rod 3 provided with an actuating lever 2 is supported in the two sidewalls 1; the rod 3 is connected at each of its ends with a shift-lockmember 4 provided with a row of openings or apertures. Whereas one shiftlock member 4 is constructed elastically in a conventional manner, theother shift-lock member 4 is rigidly connected with the rod 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the side walls I carry the slide members 5, 5' madefrom any conventional synthetic resinous material which are displaceablein the vehicle longitudinal direction in the guide rails generallydesignated by reference numeral 6. Two slide members are displaceablyarranged in each guide rail as shown in FIG. 3 with the two slidemembers 5 of a respective guide rail 6 (the left guide rail 6 in FIG. 2)abutting in the lower area thereof against the walls 7, 8 and 9surrounding the same whereas the two slide members 5' of the other guiderail 6 (the right guide rail 6 of FIG. 2) have a spacing with respect tothe corresponding walls 7 and 9. As shown, a portion of the side walls Iextend through a longitudinal aperture 17 in the wall 7 for connectionwith the slide members 5 and 5. Both types of slide members 5 and 5'have a clearance between their upper edge and the upper wall 10 of theguide rail 6. An easy displaceability of the slide members 5, 5notwithstanding o'ccurring manufacturing tolerances is achieved by thesemeasures, on the one hand, whereas on the other, no disturbing crossmovements of the seat can occur.

In FIG. 3, the engaged condition of a shift-lock member 4 is illustratedwhich is constructed elastically e.g., of a resilient material and whoserow of apertures engages into a toothed bar 11 projecting downwardlyfrom the guide rail 6. A cam 12 is rotatably supported at the side wall1 between the two slide members 5, schematically shown in dashed line,which as a result of the force of a spring 13 presses against the upperwall 10 of the guide rail 6 and thus prevents a rattling of the slidemembers 5 and 5.

lfas illustrated in FIG. 4the actuating lever 2 is lifted, then theshift-lock member 4 pivots downwardly and releases the toothed bar 11.Simultaneously, the rear end of the shift-lock member 4 presses on anextension 14 projecting from the cam 12 and thus unlocks the slidemembers 5 and 5'.

FIG. 5 once again represents. schematically the cooperation of adisengaged shift-lock member 4' with the toothed bar 11 whereby theshift-lock member 4' is formed as a rigid member connected with the rod3 and is drawn in the direction of the toothed bar 11 by a spring 15connected with the side wall in a conventional manner (not shown). Theteeth 16 of the toothed bar 11 have a relativelynarrow head whichterminates in a wide base part after an inclined transition on bothsides. The engaging operation of the shift-lock members 4' isfacilitated thereby and a completely satisfactory anchoring in thetoothed bar 1 l is achieved.

I While we have shown and described only one embodiment in accordancewith the present invention, it is understood that the same is notlimited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modificationsas known to those skilled in the art, and we therefore do not wish to belimited to the details shown and described hereinbut intend to cover allsuch changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of theappended claims.

What we claim is:

l. A seat-adjusting mechanism comprising guide rail means, slide meansconnected to at least one side wall of a seat frame, said slide meansincluding first and second portions arranged for displacement in saidguide rail means, said guide rail means including tooth means,shift-lock means carried by the side wall of the seat frame for engagingsaid tooth means to fix a selected seatposition, said guide rail meansincluding opposed upstanding walls and upper and lower walls surroundingsaid slide means, one of said walls having an aperture therethrough inwhich the connection of the side wall of the seat frame to said slidemeans is disposed, said slide means abutting at least at the lower wallof said guide rail means and having an upper edge thereof spaced fromthe upper wall of said guide rail means, and spring-loaded cam meansrotatably supported at the side wall of the seat frame intermediate saidfirst and second portions of said slide means for compensating for thespace between the slide means and the upper wall of said guide railmeans by abutting at the upper wall in a selected fixed position forpreventing movement between the upper and lower wall of said guide railmeans.

2. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein saidshift-lock means is provided with a row of apertures adapted to receivesaid tooth means of said guide rail means, said shift-lock means beingconnected to a rod having an actuating lever connected thereto wherebymovement of the actuating lever causes said shift-lock means todisengage from said tooth means and to contact said cam means to movesaid cam means out of abutment with said guide rail means.

3. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 2, wherein said guiderail means includes two guide rails having said slide means displaceablyarranged therein, and said slide means of one of said guide railsabutting at least within the lower area of the opposed upstanding wallsand lower wall of said guide rail. i

4. A seat-ad usting mechanism as defined in claim 3,

wherein one of said shift-lock means is formed as a rigid member andincludes a spring for biasing said rigid member into engagement withsaid tooth means of said guide rail means, said tooth means being atoothed bar projecting downwardly from each guide rail, and the other ofsaid shift-lock means is formed as a resilient member for engagementwith said tooth means.

5. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 4, wherein saidtoothed baris provided with teeth having a relatively narrow headportion which run out into a relatively wide base portion by way ofinclined transition portions on both sides.

6. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 5, wherein the seat isa vehicle seat arranged for adjustment in the vehicle longitudinaldirection.

7. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 6, wherein said slidemeans is formed of synthetic resinous material.

1. A seat-adjusting mechanism comprising guide rail means, slide meansconnected to at least one side wall of a seat frame, said slide meansincluding first and second portions arranged for displacement in saidguide rail means, said guide rail means including tooth means,shift-lock means carried by the side wall of the seat frame for engagingsaid tooth means to fix a selected seat position, said guide rail meansincluding opposed upstanding walls and upper and lower walls surroundingsaid slide means, one of said walls having an aperture therethrough inwhich the connection of the side wall of the seat frame to said slidemeans is disposed, said slide means abutting at least at the lower wallof said guide rail means and having an upper edge thereof spaced fromthe upper wall of said guide rail means, and spring-loaded cam meansrotatably supported at the side wall of the seat frame intermediate saidfirst and second portions of said slide means for compensating for thespace between the slide means and the upper wall of said guide railmeans by abutting at the upper wall in a selected fixed position forpreventing movement between the upper and lower wall of said guide railmeans.
 2. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein saidshift-lock means is provided with a row of apertures adapted to receivesaid tooth means of said guide rail means, said shift-lock means beingconnected to a rod having an actuating lever connected thereto wherebymovement of the actuating lever causes said shift-lock means todisengage from said tooth means and to contact said cam means to movesaid cam means out of abutment with said guide rail means.
 3. Aseat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 2, wherein said guide railmeans includes two guide rails having said slide means displaceablyarranged therein, and said slide means of one of said guide railsabutting at least within the lower area of the opposed upstanding wallsand lower wall of said guide rail.
 4. A seat-adjusting mechanism asdefined in claim 3, wherein one of said shift-lock means is formed as arigid member and includes a spring for biasing said rigid member intoengagement with said tooth means of said guide rail means, said toothmeans being a toothed bar projecting downwardly from each guide rail,and the other of said shift-lock means is formed as a resilient memberfor engagement with said tooth means.
 5. A seat-adjusting mechanism asdefined in claim 4, wherein said toothed bar is provided with teethhaving a relatively narrow head portion which run out into a relativelywide base portion by way of inclined transition portions on both sides.6. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 5, wherein the seat isa vehicle seat arrangeD for adjustment in the vehicle longitudinaldirection.
 7. A seat-adjusting mechanism as defined in claim 6, whereinsaid slide means is formed of synthetic resinous material.